“It’s a club close to my heart. That’s where it all started for me, I had a lot of good days there and a great relationship with the fans. Never mind it being one of the results I look for every week, it’s the first result I look for.

“Going back there one day has always been something in the back of my mind throughout my career. I think it would be fitting if that was the last stop on my journey.”

Bent scored 55 goals in 141 appearances for Ipswich Town (2001-05) after emerging from the youth system. He moved to Charlton Athletic for around £3m. Photo: Archant

After leaving Portman Road for Charlton in 2005, Bent had further big money moves to Tottenham, Sunderland and Aston Villa. Along the way he earned 13 England caps too.

He’s spent the last three seasons playing in the Championship for Derby, suffering a fair share of hamstring injuries along the way, but managed 15 appearances on loan for Burton at the back end of last season and was recently linked to Rangers.

Darren Bent shares a joke with recently retired Ipswich Town goalkeeper coach Malcolm Webster upon his return to Portman Road as a Derby player in 2015. Photo: Archant

“I’m enjoying the media work, but would love to keep playing as long as possible. That said I’ve got levels and standards that I don’t want to drop below. We’ll see what happens. As I say, I’d definitely love to have a conversation with Ipswich.

“The team hasn’t got off to the best of starts and it would be nice to try and help out if they need another striker. I see that one area they have been struggling with has been scoring goals and that’s something I’ll always back myself to do.

He added: “I trained with Burton over the summer, played some pre-season games, had a couple of charity matches and have been doing my own gym work. I don’t think general fitness would be an issue, it would just take a little bit of time to get that match sharpness back.”